Three Actors Emerge as Frontrunners for Snake Plissken in Escape From New York Reboot

Producer Joel Silver is still planning to reboot Escape From New York, and a new report claims that he not only has three actors in mind, but also that the movie will follow the same “team” direction as the likes of The Avengers!

The current version of the script has apparently always had a team dynamic to it, but now a number of supporting characters have been elevated to “co-leads”, with iconic antihero Snake Plissken set to be joined by four others.

They will be Cabbie, a schizophrenic travel guide who serves as comic relief; Mina, a war journalist who becomes a scavenger after being framed for murder; Gareth, the last surviving member of the President’s security detail who harbours a dangerous secret; and The Brain, Snake’s former partner-in-crime who left him to die.

Cabbie (played by Ernest Borgnine in John Carpenter’s 1981 classic) is obviously a familiar face, but the rest are all new additions who will be included in order to make up the team led by Snake.

Escape From New York follows convicted bank robber Snake Plissken as he is tasked with saving the President after Air Force One crashes in Manhattan, a city which has become a maximum security prison in the future.

Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) is said to be the top choice to take over from Kurt Russell as Snake, though his commitments to Pacific Rim and Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur movie could stop that from happening. Joining him as possible frontrunners for the role are The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal and Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens.

Since leaving the zombie series, Bernthal has starred in a number of projects, including The Wolf of Wall Street. Stevens meanwhile will next be seen taking on a lead role in The Guest. With the hunt for a director said to be currently taking place, we’ll likely hear more about the Escape From New York reboot very soon.